The Trickledown Effect
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Jennifer Jareau knew one thing...the Bureau didn't pay her enough for these antics of his. THREESHOT
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: We have a couple of announcements for you all today. We're proud to announce that signups are open for the Fanfic Challenge - Round 4 on our forum, "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" or, as we like to call it, the "PYOP Challenge" (pick your own pairing challenge) through September 1st. For those interested, simply go to the forum to the PYOP Challenge thread and sign up with your favorite pairing. On September 2nd, we'll assign you a scenario to write provided by some of our lovely fellow authors. This will give everybody an opportunity to write what they love and provide readers with some awesome stories. Please sign up at the forum or shoot us a PM signifying your willingness to participate. So, please come join the fun and let's make this the most successful challenge yet!**_

_**We also have wonderful new interviews with the lovely Sarramaks and hot4cullenmen! Please check it out and let them know your thoughts!**_

**_We've also added a fun new prompt thread called, "Fortune Cookie Fridays" based on an idea submitted by LoveforPenandDerek. Come by and check it out...perhaps, it will feed the muse._**

_**Also, feel free to swing by the forum and leave your condolences on the thread set up for our late fellow author, JWynn, lost to us July 29, 2010.**_

_**And, as always, thanks to everybody still reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting our stories. We couldn't do this without your support!**_

* * *

**The Trickledown Effect**

**Chapter One**

They didn't pay her enough.

They really, really didn't, Jennifer Jareau thought as her fingers tightly clenching the leather steering wheel of her car. Where in her job description had it ever said that part of her duties would include chasing after arrogant, errant legendary profilers? Obviously someone had misunderstood a very important clause along the way. Perhaps, she needed to review that employment agreement she'd signed upon joining the Bureau seven years ago.

Especially if THIS was going to become a normal part of her everyday responsibilities.

Taking her eyes off the road just long enough to glare at the file in her passenger seat, she silently cursed David Rossi as she continued toward his small stately mansion on the outskirts of DC. Hadn't she reminded him to put his John Hancock on the deposition yesterday? Hadn't she?

Not once. Not twice. But three freaking charmed times!

Now, thanks to his inability to follow simple commands, she had an impatient district attorney breathing down her neck, a busier than usual Unit Chief who thought the ideal solution was sending her out into the middle of nowhere to ferret out a rat best left in his trap, and a headache to rival any Erin Strauss had ever given her.

It was official. Her day sucked and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet.

Angrily slapping on her turn signal as she crested a rolling hill, JJ turned onto the gravel road leading to Rossi's not-so-humble abode. Pursing her lips as she pulled alongside his black Dodge Ram, JJ resisted the urge to shriek, knowing the echo inside the vehicle would only serve to intensify her already pounding head. So help her God, if she tromped all the way into the Virginian wilds to find the once famously notorious Lothario in flagrante delicto, she would not be held responsible for her actions, violent thought they might be.

And no jury in the land would convict her.

It was bad enough that she'd already been choking on her own confusing feelings for the impossible occupant of the home before her. Seeing him entwined in a compromising position with some unknown woman just might push her off the deep end…and she was taking him with her. And at this point in her life, she was fairly certain that she just might strangle any lifeguard that attempted to save his sorry life along the way.

Grabbing the file off the leather seat beside her, she frowned at herself. Focus, JJ, she mentally chastened herself, squaring her shoulders in an attempt to instill a modicum of professionalism back into her frazzled mind. Time enough for those foolish schoolgirl fantasies when you aren't standing in the starring role's graveled driveway, she righteously informed herself. Right now, she had a job to do.

And evidently, it involved finding the man of her secret dreams…and sitting on him until he signed the damned paper she held.

Stomping up his flagstone sidewalk, JJ rang the doorbell with a determined force. Waiting a few moments, she knocked loudly on the door, sublimating her urge to pound on his head.

Great. Just great. Today, of all days, the taciturn man had decided to become a recluse. Just freaking perfect!

"Dave!" JJ yelled, her fist landing against the heavy wood door, "Open up!" Tapping her heel shod foot impatiently, she glared at the closed door, wondering for a moment what the penalty for damage to physical property was in this corner of Virginia.

Maybe he really did have a woman in there with him. She certainly hadn't heard about any of Rossi's ladyloves in the past year, but, there was always a first time.

Well, she told herself sternly, whether he was or was not entertaining the harlot du jour, she still had a job to do. And she'd be damned if she let that man or her feelings for him stand between her and her professionalism. She had never failed at an assignment yet, and she was not about to start now.

Banging on the door again, she mumbled every possible epithet under her breath as she mentally imagined every cruel and unusual punishment she could inflict on the man. That was, of course, just as soon as she found his sorry carcass.

Waiting for another few seconds, she turned on one heel as she surveyed her options. Stomping around the wrap-around porch, she alternately peered into and banged on every window on the lower floor, her thought darkening with each step.

Oh, when she got her hands on David Rossi, she was going to ring his stubborn stiff neck just like her grandmother did with the chickens on the farm. Jennifer Jareau had skills that man obviously was not aware of, and she had no problems serving him up on a platter for Sunday dinner.

Stepping from the porch onto the back deck, she narrowed her eyes as she immediately noticed the large, black furry animal curled up at the back door. And in that same moment, said animal noticed her.

Barely taking a quick moment to plant her feet tightly onto the planked porch, JJ rolled her eyes as she met the exuberant greeting of Rossi's four-legged hunting companion. Reaching out to grab the barking dog by the collar before he could attempt to cover her in welcome licks once again, JJ said with a shake of her head, "I'm glad to see you, too, Mudgie. But I'd really like to see your master, if you don't mind."

Letting out one last loud bark, Mudgie drug his newest friend toward the door. JJ felt herself being pulled by the hundred-pound animal, and, being the farm girl that she was, knew better than to resist. Barely catching herself on the frame of the wooden door, she twitched her lips from side to side as she muttered, half to herself and half to the excited dog, "So he's actually here, huh? I hope he realizes he's got some explaining to do. Otherwise, you might get to go live with your Auntie Penelope. Forever."

Opening the screen door, JJ looked around the bright, airy kitchen for a moment before venturing inside the so-called cabin. She heard Mudgie settle at the door once again, his so-called guard duty apparently accomplished to his canine satisfaction. Glancing toward the oaken stairwell leading up to the second floor of the house, JJ called, "Dave?" Placing one foot tentatively on the lowest step, she called again, "Dave? Are you up there?"

"JJ!" she heard a muffled, albeit familiar voice yell from somewhere up above. "Thank God!"

"Dave?" JJ shouted back, frowning as she glanced up the staircase. "Where are you?"

"My bedroom," his distant voice yelled back, the words seeming to echo against the tall ceilings. "I sorta need your assistance up here!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: We have a couple of announcements for you all today. We're proud to announce that signups are open for the Fanfic Challenge - Round 4 on our forum, "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" or, as we like to call it, the "PYOP Challenge" (pick your own pairing challenge) through September 1st. For those interested, simply go to the forum to the PYOP Challenge thread and sign up with your favorite pairing. On September 2nd, we'll assign you a scenario to write provided by some of our lovely fellow authors. This will give everybody an opportunity to write what they love and provide readers with some awesome stories. Please sign up at the forum or shoot us a PM signifying your willingness to participate. So, please come join the fun and let's make this the most successful challenge yet!**_

_**We also have wonderful new interviews with the lovely Sarramaks and hot4cullenmen! Please check it out and let them know your thoughts!**_

**_We've also added a fun new prompt thread called, "Fortune Cookie Fridays" based on an idea submitted by LoveforPenandDerek. Come by and check it out...perhaps, it will feed the muse._**

_**And, as always, thanks to everybody still reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting our stories. We couldn't do this without your support!**_

* * *

**The Trickledown Effect**

**Chapter Two**

Quirking one eyebrow as his faraway words registered, JJ slowly climbed the stairs, each step bringing a new thought to her already addled mind. Suspicious by nature, she could only wonder what she was about to find when she reached her ultimate destination. And God help her if he'd actually managed to kill a woman with his well known sex drive.

There was always a kernel of truth in every rumor...and rumors abounded with abandon regarding her colleague's alleged libido.

As she finally reached the top of the stairs, she looked down the long hallway. Great, the first time she was invited into the much lauded Rossi bedroom, she was dragging her feet. Wasn't she supposed to be running with glee toward this moment?

"Dave?" she called out hesitantly, listening intently, and thankfully hearing no feminine sound in response.

"Last door on the left," he called back, his voice closer and clearer than it had been before. "It's open, JJ," he said gruffly.

Walking toward the sound of his voice, JJ peered into the famed bedroom. It certainly didn't look like the sleeping area of the Sultan of Quantico. No circular bed heaped with pillows, no odor of incense, no silken robes strewn through the room just waiting to cover naked, debauched bodies. Nope. Just a normal four poster bed. And on closer inspection, she had to admit that she couldn't even find any notches.

Perhaps the legend was, indeed, slowing in his advanced years. Perish the thought.

"Dave," she again called out cautiously, her eyes still scanning around the room, searching for signs of life.

"JJ?" Dave asked, his voice bold in the empty bedroom. "Thank God! I'm in the bathroom."

Jerking her head toward the closed door through which his voice emanated, JJ frowned as she took an involuntary step backwards. "Well, I can meet you downstairs then. Hotch sent me to get this deposition signed, but I can wait long enough for you to finish."

"No! Don't you dare leave!" Dave yelled frantically, his words growing insistently louder. "I need your help!"

"Uhmmm..." JJ hedged, confusion clouding her face. Help in the bathroom? From her? She was fairly certain her fantasies hadn't extended that far yet, had they?

"Get in here!" Dave's demanded impatiently.

"I don't think..." JJ trailed off, stepping tentatively toward the door in spite of her reservations. "Why?" she asked when she found her voice again, curiosity getting the best of her. Perhaps, he was legitimately ill. She couldn't let a colleague suffer in silence, could she? Hadn't her parents raised her to be compassionate to all forms of God's creatures….even the egotistical ones that made her heart go thump?

Silent a moment, Dave's voice finally reluctantly admitted, "I'm stuck."

"You're what?" JJ blurted, taking another step toward the door as her blonde brows furrowed in consternation, his embarrassment obvious in those two words.

"I'M STUCK, damn it!" Dave yelled belligerently from inside the remodeled bathroom, his eyes glaring as he tried to stare out the glass shower door. "JJ, please, get in here and help me!" he begged, resisting the urge to crack his head against his newly installed state-of-the-so-called-art fiberglass shower.

Why the hell had he convinced himself that his bathroom needed renovations, anyway? He'd had a perfectly serviceable bathing area before he'd looked at that damned architectural magazine. Now, look at the position his damned ego had put him in...about to give the woman he'd spent more than a few stolen moments fantasizing about the show of her life.

And not in that good way that always ended happily. Thanks to his inadequate water heater, he thought with a glare toward his groin, Little Davey wasn't looking quite up to par. Oh, the horrors.

Barely resisting the frantic urge to cover her eyes, JJ reminded herself sternly that she was an adult. And as an adult, she couldn't leave a friend in need, could she?

But then, just as she managed to convince herself of the duty lying before her, that niggling demon that insisted on expressing its wicked opinion couldn't resist reminding JJ that this was the perfect opportunity she'd been waiting for. David Rossi needed her help. Her help alone. In the shower.

Where he was obviously naked.

And oh, the fantasies that that one simple phrase spawned in her obviously confused mind!

"JJ! Are you out there?" Dave all but demanded, unable to hear any sounds of movement or, better yet, demolition as he hoped JJ was attempting to remove him from his new-found tomb. He was too young to die, wasn't he? Especially in such an embarrassing predicament!

Shaking her head sternly as she stepped further into the humid room, JJ swallowed hard as she called out, "I'm here, Dave. What in the name of all that is holy have you done to yourself now?"

"Can we worry about assigning blame later? I'm kinda in a bit of a bind here," Dave snarked, rolling his eyes as he swept a stray strand of damp hair off his forehead. "Tell me you can see what the problem is out there."

Her eyes were immediately drawn toward the fogged glass that enclosed what appeared to be an oversized stone shower set cattycorner into the colossal bath. Damn, she thought appreciatively, looking around the room, while Dave's bedroom might not have been the hedonistic chamber she expected, his bath was definitely an indulgent dream. Her gaze landed longingly on the deep, sunken garden tub in the corner, and she fought valiantly against the sudden vision of herself and that insufferable man surrounded by mounds of white shimmering bubbles.

They would be naked. Together.

Ok, Jareau, she sternly warned herself. Snap out of it. Act like a damn freaking adult, not some starstruck groupie intent on bedding the rock star!

Jerking her gaze back toward the metal handle to the shower door, she muttered, half to herself and half to the man inside, "Honestly, I think this might be a job for one of the men on the team, Dave. I can have Morgan or Hotch come out and…"

"Hell no!" Rossi snorted, his eyes narrowing as he made out her wavering figure through the slightly clearing glass. "Just try to pull the door open from your side, JJ!"

Lifting her hand to grasp the metal handle on the door, JJ paused, raising one eyebrow. "Are you naked in there, Rossi?" she asked suspiciously, her earlier thoughts rebounding. Please, oh please, God, let him at least have a towel...a washcloth...anything! She wasn't ready!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: We have a couple of announcements for you all today. We're proud to announce that signups are open for the Fanfic Challenge - Round 4 on our forum, "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" or, as we like to call it, the "PYOP Challenge" (pick your own pairing challenge) through September 1st. For those interested, simply go to the forum to the PYOP Challenge thread and sign up with your favorite pairing. On September 2nd, we'll assign you a scenario to write provided by some of our lovely fellow authors. This will give everybody an opportunity to write what they love and provide readers with some awesome stories. Please sign up at the forum or shoot us a PM signifying your willingness to participate. So, please come join the fun and let's make this the most successful challenge yet!**_

_**We also have wonderful new interviews with the lovely Sarramaks and hot4cullenmen! Please check it out and let them know your thoughts!**_

_**We've also added two fun new prompt threads. One is called, "Fortune Cookie Fridays" based on an idea submitted by LoveforPenandDerek. Come by and check it out...perhaps, it will feed the muse. And the other is called, "Getting to Know...YOU! Tell us about yourself" It asks five simple questions that allow readers and authors alike to briefly tell us about who they are.**_

_**And, as always, thanks to everybody still reading, reviewing, alerting and favoriting our stories. We couldn't do this without your support!**_

* * *

**The Trickledown Effect**

**Chapter Three**

"Of course, Agent Jareau," Dave answered drolly, staring up at the ceiling, "I shower in my three piece suit every day. I wouldn't want to offend my loofah's delicate sensibilities."

Taking a step back, JJ cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "You know I can leave. I do an excellent imitation of your serial killer scrawl. That file can be magically completed without your assistance. What's a little forgery charge, after all?"

"Okay, okay," Dave said quickly, his damp palms pressing against the glass, "I'm sorry, Jen! Just don't leave!"

Letting out a sigh as she watched his fingers seem to reach out toward her, JJ knew she was a goner, in spite of her earlier thoughts. Sliding her suit coat off her shoulders as she examined the seal on the shower's door, she asked, "How much is it worth to you?"

"Worth?" Dave echoed. Hell, when had he been reduced to negotiating for his freedom? In his own home, none the less.

"Uh huh," JJ grunted, tugging at the stall door as her blonde brows drew together in consternation. Damn, that thing was really jammed.

"Whatever you want, Jen," Dave growled, pushing his hands against the frame. "Just get me out of here!"

"I am trying," JJ muttered, tugging harder as she blew a strand of hair off her face. "But you're REALLY stuck, Dave. This thing isn't giving a bit," she complained, pulling again, harder this time, her upper arm muscles straining from the effort.

"Yeah, I got that memo, babe," Dave grumbled, throwing his shoulder against the stall door, sliding slightly on the slick floor.

"It's swelled shut," JJ panted, taking a step back after several minutes of pulling while Dave repeatedly threw his body at the door.

"No shit," Dave huffed, glaring at her through the cloudy glass as he surreptitiously massaged his shoulder, hoping that she couldn't see that at all.

"Must be all that hot air you've got," JJ retorted, fighting a grin as she watched his shadow pace the shower stall again. The man really did have a well-formed tush…and oh, the fantasies that sight would fuel for months to come.

"JJ," Dave said suspiciously from the other side of the glass when her body didn't move for several seconds and her head cocked to the side. "Are you checking me out?" he asked, eyes twinkling as a slow smirk twisted his lips, his hands dropping to his sides as he unconsciously straightened his shoulders.

"Of course not!" JJ yelped, turning quickly, thankful that he couldn't see the flush of embarrassment climbing her cheeks. "I was deliberating our next step."

"Sure you were," Dave placated her, more than thrilled when Little Davey took an immediate interest at the turn in conversation.

"I still have that option of leaving," JJ grumbled, dropping her hands to her hips as she turned around to face the shower again. "But honestly, I think it's time to bring out the big guns, Dave. Where are your tools?" Silence reigned as she stared at the cloudy glass. "You aren't afraid for me to handle your tools, are you, Dave?" she asked blandly.

Oh, he definitely had a tool he'd love for her to handle, but somehow, he was fairly certain that his blatant desire for the woman on the other side of the glass wouldn't be appreciated right now. And more importantly, he would be left stranded inside this tomb until the end of time. "Of course not, Jen," Dave choked, swallowing hard as he forced himself to think. "But since I paid over five grand for this state of the art water system, dismembering it with your bare hands might be a bit..."

"Necessary," JJ insisted, blowing out an impatient breath as she continued to stare into the foggy glass. "Face it, Dave. We're gonna have to break the glass."

"Honey, it's not the glass I'm worried about you breaking," Dave replied, fighting a laugh. "I've got some pretty important material in here that I'd like to remain unscathed."

"Seriously," JJ groaned, pressing a hand to her reddening cheek. "THAT'S what you're worried about? The continued safety of your dick?"

"Jen, honey," Dave tried again, ignoring the thrill that one word sent through his body, "Please? Let's just try the push-pull thing one more time. I've gotta good feeling about this one."

"Of course you do," JJ muttered, reaching for the stall door again. "Your energy has been miraculously renewed by the idea that your penis might be in danger of mutilation."

"You gotta admit," Dave reasoned, smiling widely as he watched her wavering figure move closer. "It's a hell of an incentive to a guy."

"Just shut up and push on the count of three, Rossi," JJ ordered indignantly, hiking her skirt up as she braced her feet on the plush rug beneath her feet. Screw the Bureau. She wanted her raise to come out of David Rossi's hide for inflicting this kind of humiliation on her.

"One," she counted, her voice loud in the bathroom. "Two! Three!" she yelled, heaving at the door with all her strength as Dave pushed from the opposite side.

She should have expected what was coming next. Really, she should have. Hadn't she taken the required physics course in college and learned all about equal and opposite reactions? But, after an hour of struggling to get the shower door open, the fact that it did finally release wasn't something she was prepared for. And as David Rossi's solid body hurtled into her, they were both knocked to the floor in an unceremonious heap.

Catching her breath as his heavy weight settled on top of hers, JJ's eyes finally opened to stare into his dancing orbs.

"Fancy meeting you here, Agent Jareau," Dave teased, the soft body beneath him doing wonderful things to his own. Little Davey was definitely exhibiting obvious signs of paying attention to the current situation. "So glad you stopped by."

Shaking her head absently up at him, she said the first thing that came to mind. Another bad habit of hers that he took extreme delight in exploiting. "You're making me all wet, Dave," she whined, shimmying beneath him as she slid her legs against his damp body.

"There's so many ways I could go with that statement, Babe," Dave grinned mischievously, capturing her squirming shoulders with his strong arms. "But suffice it to say that under different circumstances, those words would be music to my ears. Just consider it the trickledown effect."

And dropping her head back to the rug beneath her head, JJ sighed. Yep, she'd definitely earned a raise today. She'd just never suspected it would take the form of an incredibly naked, definitely interested former Italian Lothario blanketing her body.

Maybe it was true, she thought idly as her own body began to respond excitedly. Some days you're the windshield. Some days you're the bug.

And, honestly, today… she couldn't wait to find out which one she was. Either way, she had a feeling she was about to be taken on the ride of her life.

_**Finis**_


End file.
